Don’t stop believing – in the health of television dramas.
Denis Leary’s “Rescue Me” is burning bright as ever on FX.
Kyra Sedgwick injects great personality into a police procedural as “The Closer” launches another season June 18 on TNT.
And “Big Love,” the hottest series with the blandest wardrobe on TV, deserves continued attention on HBO.
Beyond gritty dramas, a reality contrivance premieres Monday on NBC. They should have called it “Catfight.”
Combining ageism with sexism and misogyny, “Age of Love” seeks to determine what constitutes the prime of life for demonstrably hot women – are they sexier at 20 or at 40? How will a man choose?
“Age of Love” (8 p.m. Monday, KUSA-Channel 9) divides women by age into “kitten” and “cougar” categories and unleashes them on tennis star Mark Philippoussis.
At first, neither group knows the other exists. Later, the claws come out. It’s “The Bachelor” plus fighting about crows’ feet and sagging breasts.
Better, less titillating premieres:
“The Closer,” Mondays on TNT: Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson (Sedgwick) is a CIA- trained interrogator with a Southern accent, a big heart and a committed boyfriend. She eats junk food and politely solves crimes while he pushes to solidify their relationship. As the season opens, budget cutbacks and forced retirements threaten to hamper her homicide investigation.
The longer Sedgwick appears on screen, the more apparent it becomes that her mannerisms make her the perfect mix of kitten/cougar.
“Big Love,” Mondays on HBO: The sister-wives (played by Chloe Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin) must deal with the disenchantment of Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), wife No.1, who was outed as a polygamist at the end of last season just as she was about to receive a motherhood award at the governor’s mansion. Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) suspects the woman who told Barb’s secret is one of his employees. Back at the Juniper Creek compound, Roman (Harry Dean Stanton) is conducting an investigation into the attempted murder of his son.
“Rescue Me,” Wednesdays on FX: Season 4 began this week with Tommy Gavin (Leary) under investigation for arson. It seems his girlfriend Sheila drugged Tommy and torched the beach house she bought with her 9/11 “widow money” when Tommy refused to retire from the FDNY and live with her. Meanwhile, Tommy’s estranged wife, Janet, has delivered a baby – who is either Tommy’s or his recently deceased brother’s. The rest of the crew are dealing with various girlfriend, health and sexual identity issues, all between answering fire alarms. Still a savagely funny, distressingly sorrowful drama that captures post-9/11 New York better than any ongoing series on TV. And, yes, Susan Sarandon will be back.
“Entourage,” Sundays on HBO: The boys are making a movie titled “Medellín,” on location in Bogota, Colombia. In Spanish. What could possibly go wrong?
In the next episode, Ari (Jeremy Piven) learns that his son may not get into the exclusive private school where his daughter is enrolled. Naturally he thinks he can strong-arm school officials the way he does Hollywood deals. While the show targets younger males, the jokes at the expense of Hollywood (particularly type-A agents) play to a wide audience.
“Meadowlands,” Sundays on Showtime, starts June 17: Judging by the first three hours of this British co-production, this tale of a curious town inhabited by people with secret identities is terminally dark and violent, with a futuristic, video-spying, gloss that’s less interesting than “The Truman Show.”
So far “Meadowlands” is less rewarding than FX’s “The Riches,” which concerns false identities in a more compelling (sometimes humorous) way – and also includes a cross-dressing son.
“John From Cincinnati,” Sundays on HBO: Smug in its metaphysical hipness, this is a too- groovy surfer tale replete with a levitating body, possible miracles and a repertory company familiar from David Milch’s “Deadwood.” Milch’s new drama is more inscrutable than cool. Based on the first three hours, it might end up making a profound point. But not yet.
TV critic Joanne Ostrow can be reached at 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com.
